


MEMENTO MORI

by Nicini



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Itachiyama's banner is Memento Mori, Character Study, Gen, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Itachiyama Three thinking about their banner, minor mentions of injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28177314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicini/pseuds/Nicini
Summary: Little glimpse of the Itachiyama Three under their Memento Mori banner and what it means to them.
Relationships: Iizuna Tsukasa & Komori Motoya & Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 35





	MEMENTO MORI

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suganii (feints)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feints/gifts).



> This is for you, Minty.  
> I always wanted to do something for the Minor Teams Week, but there just came no idea to mind. And now, almost a month later, Furudate decided to throw us a crumb of another banner motto for Itachiyama and my brain literally went insane with it. Thanks for hyping me up!
> 
> I wrote this within like maybe 1 1/2 to 2 hours, so maybe it might seem a little bit disarrayed, but yeah. I hope you'll enjoy it, everyone. <3

"Wow, Sakusa. Look at it. This is where we're going to play volleyball? I can't wait! Aren't you excited? Aren't you?"

"Shut up, Komori. It's just a gym. It's just normal practice. We're going to put in our all and that's it."

Komori just hummed at that and opened the doors to the gym, a huge grin on his face. 

"Oh, you're two of the new first years? What's up? I'm Iizuna Tsukasa, second year and the setter." 

"Sakusa."

Komori rolled his eyes at the bored tone of his cousin and instead hopped to Iizuna and shook his outstretched hand. "Ignore him, he's a grumpy grump and doesn't like touch very much. I'm Komori Motoya, libero. And Sakusa here is an outside hitter. Has some very nasty spins on his spikes."

Iizuna laughed at that and nodded. "I know. We watched some of your matches. It's great to see that you two joined us."

"What is this banner?" Sakusa suddenly exclaimed as he took in the banner, hanging from the stands, foregoing any other smalltalk. 

Iizuna turned to look at it and scrunched his eyebrows, before turning back to the two of them. "Memento Mori. It means Remember that you must die." 

A kind smile spread onto Iizuna's face as he took in the incredulous gazes the two of them surely threw at him. "I know it seems gloomy and weird for a banner at first, but you'll get used to it. I'm sure soon enough you're going to like it, too. Once you get it."

"Someone's going to have to die, huh?" Sakusa murmured, eyes again lingering on the black ink, a stark contrast to the neon yellow-green gradient of the banner. Komori just shrugged, still not really getting the motto, but wanting to lift the mood. He patted two times onto Sakusa's shoulder, earning a glare for it and then grinned. "Well, hopefully of fun, right?"

Iizuna burst into laughter and nodded, his eyes crinkling in amusement as his gaze quickly switched between the two of them. "You know what? I think you two are going to fit right into our team. C'mon, let's introduce you to everyone else."

*

The first time Sakusa really understood what the banner meant was when he had to be subbed out in a practice match in his first year because the spin he put into one of his spikes was too much and hurt his wrist. Something had gone wrong, he wasn't quite sure what exactly, but the next thing he knew he was on the floor, clutching his hand and having to suffer through while it got treated as he sat on the side of the court.

As he watched the game go on without him, and the banner that mockingly fluttered in front of him, he thought that he understood. 

_Memento Mori._  
Remember that you must die.  
Remember that the end is coming.  
Remember that everyone is mortal.  
Remember that injuries happen and that him playing volleyball wasn't guaranteed. 

He always wanted to see things through to the end, didn't like the fact that things were left unfinished. Right now he also itched, wanted to go back to the court, wanted to play that one set, that one game until the end. But he couldn't. Because this was also life. Because he hadn't been careful enough and got himself hurt.

His resolve to do things right, to give his best into everything he did at all times, began right here. If he wanted to see things through to the end, he also had to remember that there was an end in sight. And he'd make sure that this end would be a fulfilling one and not one that was cut short.

*

The first time Komori really understood what the banner meant was at the Spring Nationals in his second year, right at the moment they lost on the third day. Or maybe it was the moment when Tsukasa fell, his captain who had been going great as always, and then got injured. Komori hadn't been on the court when it happened, just subbed out because of the rotation, but when he looked back he remembered vividly the way the shocked shouts of the crowd had rung in his head. As he had turned his face to the stands to take it in, the banner had fluttered almost mockingly at them. That image had burned itself into his eyes. Iizuna lying on the court, their team running up to him, the shouts of the crowd and the damn banner that looked down on them. Memento Mori. Remember that you must die.

Komori had always kind of just lived with the banner, not really feeling it. It was a fun intimidation. Komori wasn't going to lie, he knew they had a reputation, he knew that they were a top team. Iizuna was an incredible setter, Sakusa and him got invited to the All Japan Training Camp, two times in a row even and their team was a unit, they were good. They were favorites. Komori knew that people looked at their team and were intimidated. Add onto it the fact that they had to stare at the banner, mockingly shouting at them that they must die, he did know what kind of image they conveyed. And when the opposite team lost, it even added onto that fact. Komori never really thought much more about it. I mean, yeah of course, everyone had to die at one point, so? It was just a fun intimidating tactic for him.

But now that was different. After Iizuna had to be taken off the court, the game had been different. Komori tried his best, they all did, but with their captain gone, something else was missing beside his sets. They took it hard. Maybe the fact that they all knew in the back of their head that their starting setter, the one who made the most contact with the ball and was so essential to them, and at the same time their captain, the one who led them in times of wavering, was missing, didn't let them have that little spark. That little extra hope they might have needed.  
Komori wasn't sure and he also didn't want to think about it much. At the time he hadn't been able to do anything else than cry bitter tears at their loss.

However, after that his resolve had changed. He always had just wanted to make great receives and help his teammates to the best of his abilities, but now he wanted to do something else. He wanted to make plays that could inspire his team. Plays, so that the little hope and assurance that had been missed in that one game could be conveyed by him to his teammates. Spark something anew.

Remember that you must die. Remember that endings happen. There were going to be setbacks and not everyone would make it through to the end of a game. Not everyone was always in the right place of mind and maybe thought about things ending too soon, but Komori was going to be there to remind them that yes, things had to end, but he'd make damn sure that this ending didn't mean that they couldn't fight further.

 _Memento Mori._ For his opponents this was going to be an intimidation, but for Komori it would always be an inspiration. He'd inspire his team to remember that they were going to end things the way they wanted.

*

Iizuna Tsukasa has always liked the banner of his high school team. Memento Mori. It had a nice ring to it, although it did seem kind of depressing at first. Remember that you must die. Who the hell wanted to have such a motto on their banner for something like volleyball? Talk about gloomy.

However, when Iizuna looked further into it, he had begun to love it. Knowing that there was going to be an inevitable ending also meant that you'd have to do the most of it right now. Put everything you could into every second of each play. You never knew when it was the last. You were only mortal after all. He probably knew that better than other people, getting injured in the middle of a game of his final tournament in high school, essentially cutting the journey short. It had been so frustrating, knowing that he had done everything he could and still it had ended so abrupt, out of his control.

And although that had been a setback, he was still here. The starting setter of a Division 1 team, because even though that one game had ended, he had incorporated the motto of their team into his every being. And boy, did he put his all into every play he could, knowing full well that he'd regret it if he didn't.

 _Memento Mori._ Remember that you must die. Well, Iizuna thought with a smile, he hadn't died yet, so what else was there than to make the best of it while he was still alive?


End file.
